Ideas Lab: Synthetic and Artificial Cells

2016年，美国国家科学基金会（NSF）公布了一系列“大创意”，其中包括10个大胆的长期研究和过程创意，这些创意确定了未来在科学和工程前沿投资的领域。大创意代表了独特的机会，通过汇集不同学科的观点来支持融合研究，将我们的国家定位在全球科学和工程领导的前沿。这个提案回应了这一愿景，并描述了一个关于“合成和人工细胞”的创意实验室。创意实验室是专注于寻找重大挑战问题的创新解决方案的密集研讨会。这个创意实验室的最终目标是促进创新研究项目的产生和执行，旨在设计、制造和验证合成细胞。设计和制造合成细胞的能力对美国的科学和经济事业具有重大意义。从非生物分子和材料中合成活细胞可以为生产功能性生物材料和改进的生物燃料、大规模化学合成、非硅基计算、新型土壤工程以及医学和制药进步打开大门，这只是其中的一些可能性。对合成细胞及其产生过程的研究，还可以为了解地球上生命的起源和进化提供一个窗口，并有可能为了解地外生命提供线索。我们的愿望是，混合具有不同科学背景的研究人员将产生原创思维和创新方法，从而改变我们对细胞过程的理解，强调再现生命特征的系统的构建和功能的分子机制，类生命系统的自组装，软凝聚态物质，以及设计和构建细胞组件，细胞和多细胞系统所需的生命物理和化学。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

In 2016, the National Science Foundation (NSF) unveiled a set of 'Big Ideas,' 10 bold, long-term research and process ideas that identify areas for future investment at the frontiers of science and engineering. The Big Ideas represent unique opportunities to position our Nation at the cutting edge of global science and engineering leadership by bringing together diverse disciplinary perspectives to support convergence research. This proposal responds to that vision and describes an Ideas Lab on 'Synthetic and Artificial Cells.' Ideas Labs are intensive workshops focused on finding innovative solutions to grand challenge problems. The ultimate aim of this Ideas Lab is to facilitate the generation and execution of innovative research projects aimed at designing, fabricating, and validating synthetic cells. The ability to design and manufacture synthetic cells has significant implications for the scientific and economic enterprise of the United States. The synthesis of viable cells from non-living molecules and materials can open the door to the production of functional biomaterials and improved biofuels, large scale chemical synthesis, non-silicon-based computing, novel soil engineering, and medical and pharmaceutical advances, to name just a few possibilities. The study of synthetic cells, and of the processes used in their creation, can also provide a window on the origin and evolution of life on Earth and, potentially, provide insight into extraterrestrial life. The aspiration is that mixing researchers who have diverse scientific backgrounds will engender original thinking and innovative approaches that will transform our understanding of cellular processes, the molecular mechanisms that underscore the building and function of systems that reproduce life traits, the self-assembly of life-like systems, soft condensed matter, and the physics and chemistry of life that are needed to design and build cellular components, cells and multicell systems.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.